more than 50 cruise ship passengers left floating at sea after boat sinks in the caribbean

An excursion boat has sunk off the coast of the Dominican Republic after springing a ‘leak’.

Passengers aboard the German cruise ship Mein Schiff 1 set off on a catamaran on Sunday from Embat Pier to watch the sunset.

But a leak sprang on the 12-metre craft,named Boca de Yuma 1,flooding it and causing it to sink just off the shores of Samaná Bay.

Footage shows 55 holiday-makers – including elderly people and children – floundering in the sea as rescue crews arrived.

Stranded passengers included children (Picture: Instagram/ivanruiztv)

The Navy of the Dominican Republic said those impacted included the captain and crew (Picture: Facebook)

Though all passengers were rescued,some suffered minor injuries,Dominican Today reported.

One passenger told the German news outlet RTL that ‘frightened passengers were not taken care of’ by cruise staff.

The boat that sank belongs to a tour company that provides excursions in the Los Haitises area,the local outlet Listin Diario reported.

The Dominican Navy said on Facebook that officers ‘promptly attended a maritime incident’.

The Navy added: ‘The vessel,which had two Dominican crew members,including the captain,malfunctioned inside the hull and began to make water.

‘The vessel had departed from the Embat Pier and was conducting an excursion with passengers from the cruise ship Mein Schiff 1.’

The watercraft sank in the Samaná Bay,in the east of the Dominican Republic (Picture: atawrapper/Metro)

An investigation has been launched (Picture: Armada de Republica Dominican)

The Navy added that port authorities are investigating the incident.

‘The Dominican Republic Navy is collaborating with local authorities to determine responsibilities and take preventative measures to avoid similar incidents in the future,’ it said.

TUI Cruises,which operated the cruise,said that representatives are in talks with the trip provider and port authorities.

Guests were offered compensation and all decided to carry on with the cruise.

A spokesperson said: ‘All guests are safe and were returned to Mein Schiff 1 immediately after the rescue.

‘According to the information currently available,there was a collision with an object in the water. The captain of the excursion boat immediately contacted other boats in the vicinity and requested assistance.

‘The rescue of the guests was the top priority and was successful. We would like to thank the crew members involved for their help. The catamaran had a capacity of up to 80 guests.’

The cruise is now en route to Montego Bay,Jamaica,according to the monitoring service CruiseMapper.